Page Text
________________
iv.
MAHA-PARINIBBANA-SUTTA.
67
the Blessed One, and the Blessed One spoke as follows:
8. 'In the first place, brethren, a brother may say thus: “From the mouth of the Blessed One himself have I heard, from his own mouth have I received it. This is the truth, this the law, this the teaching of the Master.” The word spoken, brethren, by that brother should neither be received with praise nor treated with scorn. Without praise and without scorn every word and syllable should be carefully understood, and then put beside the scripture and compared with the rules of the order. If when so compared they do not harmonise with the scripture, and do not fit in with the rules of the order, then you may come to the conclusion, “Verily, this is not the word of the Blessed One, and has been wrongly grasped by that brother ?” Therefore, brethren, you should reject it. But if they harmonise with the scripture and fit in with the rules of the order, then you may come to the conclusion, “Verily, this is the word of the Blessed One, and has been well grasped by that brother.” This, brethren, you should receive as the first Great Reference.
9. 'Again, brethren, a brother may say thus : “In such and such a dwelling-place there is a company of the brethren with their elders and leaders. From the mouth of that company have I heard,
has been pointed out to me that answer was formerly 'andswerian,' where swerian is probably not unrelated to the root svar, 'to sound.'
i Sutte otâretabbâni vinaye sandassetabbâni, where one would expect to find the word Pitaka if it had been in use when this passage was first written or composed.
F 2
Digitized by Google
| SR No. | 007674 |
| Book Title | Dhammapada |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Max Muller |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1881 |
| Total Pages | 2540 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 45 MB |